One dose of Pfizer vaccine offers significant protection for those who have had COVID-19: studies

Two new British studies published late Thursday found that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine may offer significant protection for people who have already been infected with COVID-19.

The studies, published in the weekly peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet, provide further evidence for increased calls among experts to give only one dose to individuals that are already carrying antibodies against the virus.

“This could potentially accelerate vaccine rollout,” researchers at University College London and Public Health England said in one of the studies. “With increasing variants (UK, South Africa, Brazil), wider coverage without compromising vaccine-induced immunity could help reduce variant emergence.”

The University College and Public Health England researchers analyzed data among 51 health workers in London who have agreed to routine antibody and infection tests since March.

The researchers found that among roughly half of the workers who had been infected, a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine increased their antibody levels “more than 140-fold from peak pre-vaccine levels.”

Coming next: A CDC advisory committee will discuss the single dose possibility on Monday.